You know how they say experience is the best teacher, right? And you know how sometimes we go through things and in trying to understand why, the only logical reason we can come up with is that maybe God wanted us to learn from this for the sake of others in the future? But I was just thinking, do we really have to learn from things like that? Would God put us through those situations MAINLY to be able to offer advise or help to others who go through stuff like that in the future? Would that really be the ultimate reason?
I know what Romans 8:28 says, but isn't that scripture more like a case of 'in spite of' rather than 'because of'? I mean, doesn't that scripture imply that despite what happens, since we love God, it will be for our good. From that verse, the meaning I get is that even though the situation or the occurrence may not be His perfect will, but because we love God, He would make it work together for our good. In other words, it will be used to our own advantage, despite it not being His perfect will. Make sense? Okay, let me give an example. You had a loved one who had a terminal disease and you prayed, believed and trusted in God for his/her healing, but the person still died. Years down the line, you start to meet people who have lost loved ones to the same disease and some have even lost their faith as a result. For each person, you are able to successfully encourage them and uplift them. As a result of these 'success stories', you start to think that maybe God allowed you to go through that experience because of all these people you're now encouraging and ministering to. But my question is, would God really have to let that person die just so you can have that personal experience and subsequently help others going through it as well? Do we have to have such personal experiences before we can identify with the pains and sufferings of others?
Okay, let's take a look at Jesus. Hebrews 4:15 says He identifies with our weaknesses/infirmities, but when He was on earth, did He personally go through all of the things we go through? Did He fall sick? Did He lose a family member? Did He have family members with terminal illnesses? But yet, the bible says He understands and identifies with these things. In the Amplified version, it says He has a 'shared feeling' with our weaknesses and infirmities. In other Words, He feels these things (exactly as we feel them), but from His time here on earth, as bible records show, He did not personally go through ALL these things.
Several times in the bible, we see how Jesus was moved with compassion and carried out several miracles because of it. So shouldn't we as Christians (like Christ) be able to understand and identify with the sufferings of others without necessarily going through it personally. I mean, it might not come naturally, but can't we pray that God helps us feel people's pains and sufferings (not personally, but as they feel it), so that we can be moved with compassion as well and subsequently do something about it? For instance, from time to time, I usually pray that God breaks my heart for the things that breaks His. This isn't just about things I do that may break His heart, but more so things that others do.
To wrap this up, here's a personal experience I had recently. I found myself crying (almost wailing..lol) about young people and how far away they had gone from God. It really, really hurt me and made me very sad and it somehow gave me a glimpse of how unhappy God is about it as well. Although, I'm pretty sure that how I felt is not even one tenth of how God feels. So if I could share in God's feeling about how far away young people are from God, could I not also feel what people feel when they lose someone or say suffer a heart break, without having to go through these things personally? Is experience really the best teacher or should I say better teacher? What do you think? I really want to hear from you.
P.S.- I feel like I was rambling a lot in this post and I'm not even sure I've been able to communicate properly and put my thoughts into words accurately. Anyway, I'll let you be the judge of that.
xx
